Clarissa Parker is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Middlebury College. She arrived at Middlebury in 2013, after completing a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago. Clarissa received a B.A. in Psychology (with a minor in Philosophy) from Colorado College, and a Ph.D. in Psychology (with a concentration in Neuroscience and a certificate in Behavioral Genetics) from the University of Colorado. Psychiatric disorders affect millions of individuals, and disrupt some of the most fundamental human attributes such as thought, perception, mood, and even sense of self. The relative genetic contribution to psychiatric disorders is well known, yet identifying the underlying molecular mechanisms has proven difficult. Clarissa’s research uses the relative simplicity of mouse models to develop concepts, test neurobiological hypotheses, and identify genes that underlie traits with relevance to human psychiatric disorders. Her recent work has focused on behaviors that can be measured in both mice and humans; including conditioned fear (a model of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder), pre-pulse inhibition (a neurological phenomenon associated with schizophrenia) and methamphetamine sensitivity (a trait indicative of drug reward). This approach has provided fundamental insights into the neurobiology underlying these traits and a better understanding of the mechanisms by which genes influence behavior. In her free time, Clarissa enjoys yoga, fly fishing, and splitting wood.

Psychology & Neuroscience